A Medicine Cat's Loyalty
by Sparklefly
Summary: Silverflower was killed by a mysterious NightClan cat. With no apprentice, it falls on a medicine cat of another Clan to train LightningClan's next medicine cat. With high tension and long rivalries between both clans, will LightningClan fall apart?
1. Prologue

**Here's my attempt at a warriors fanfic! I've had this idea for awhile and really wanted to try it, so here's what you get! xD Please let me know what you think of this novel. I love constructive criticism, so feel free to be harsh and nitpicky in your reviews. :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Warriors. HarperCollins and Erin Hunter already have that covered. **

_**A Medicine Cat's Loyalty**_

_Prologue_

A cat was _silently_ crawling through a dark forest. Its sleek dark pelt allowed it to pass through unseen. The type of mission this cat was on was one where it absolutely could not fail. The mission was simple: murder.

Revenge was the main motive, as it is for many missions in the Clans of the warriors. As any Clan cat could tell you, revenge has its price. This cat cared not about the price of revenge and the dark times it would bring. If a cat is wounded by another does it not hurt more to fight back? This cat cared not and was determined to deliver a blow more painful that it's own wound. The mission was not just murder, but one cat going to destroy something precious. This cat had been wounded so deeply that revenge was viewed as a necessity. This cat couldn't just let it go and accept the pain.

The forest territory of LightningClan was proving to be easier than expected to navigate. The cat pounced silently onto a rock that allowed it to cross the mighty river in its path. "_Fools," _it thought, _"They don't even know I'm coming." _

The cat was nearing the LightningClan camp. It knew there was an unknown gap it could enter the camp through. _"At least there was one good thing about that accursed battle," _the cat thought as it crawled nearer and nearer to the gap. It entered a garden of herbs and the sharp scent of them filled the cat's senses. The cat had already covered itself with the scent of them in it's own camp, but decided to mask it's own scent again. The cat brushed up against several herbs.

The cat then continued crawling through the dark garden. The moon was a sliver of light in the sky and clouds covered up most of the stars. Only a few shone through. Several tail lengths away was a small gap in the bushes that could be used to get into camp. Knowing silence was imperative, the cat slowly crept up to the hole and peered through it. The only cat out in the camp was standing guard at the other end, near the main entrance. The cat smiled at the foolishness of LightningClan. _"What incompetence!" _

The cat slowly made its way through the gap. Once it was completely in the camp it held it's breathe. The cat wanted to be heard or seen by no one. It slowly stalked to the entrance of the medicine cat's den. It heard a soft breathing coming from the guard sitting in front of the main entrance. _"The guard they assigned is asleep! Ha, do they want intruders traipsing around their camp at night?"_

The cat cautiously walked up to the entrance of the medicine cat's den. A crack in the roof of the shallow cave allowed what little light there was to seep through to the den. Sitting in the middle of the den was a young, silver she-cat, intent on her task. She was sorting through herbs in what little light she had and was relying more on scent than sight to complete her task. Her intentness on the herbs was why she didn't immediately notice the scent of another cat under the herb's sharp smell.

As she was going through the healing medicine the she-cat suddenly felt that something was not right. She stopped sorting her herbs and her fur bristled.

The cat knew it had to attack now, before the silver she-cat in the den could fight back. It lunged for her. The cat landed on her shoulders and delivered the killing bite before she could do anything. The she-cat tried to yowl, but her yowls came out sounding mangled because of her wound. She swiped at her attacker with her right paw. The cat was hit by the blow, but they both knew the blow was too weak to do any serious damage and it was too late for the she-cat to fight back. There was nothing that she could do now. As the cat was about to leave it realized it's fur was between the claws of it's victims right paw. The cat quickly went back and removed the fur. It heard movement at the entrance of the camp before it could figure out what to do with the fur. _"Curses!" _the cat thought. It quickly shoved the fur in a crack in the back of the den that appeared not to have been touched in many moons.

Earlier in the evening, in front of the main entrance of the camp, a young warrior had nodded off whilst on guard duty. She had volunteered to go on the dawn patrol, forgetting it was her turn to guard the camp that night. She had then agreed to going on a hunting patrol around sun high and had given her apprentice battle training after patrolling. After sunset, as she was about to crawl into her nest for some well earned sleep, the clan deputy reminded her that it was her turn to guard camp. Pride had prevented her from asking to switch nights, so she sat at the front of camp and promptly fell asleep.

Later that night the warrior found her dreams interrupted by a mangled yowling. It took her several seconds to realize a cat in the medicine den was in some sort of serious pain. No patients were residing in the den currently, so some cat must have been injured that night. She bolted towards the den, intent on investigating, only to see a dark shape running through a gap in the back of camp and smell sharp herbs with a faint tang of NightClan scent around her. Instinct told her to charge after the intruder, but something in her heart told her check the medicine cat's den.

The young warrior peered into the den. The faint glow of moonlight revealed a silver cat lying motionlessly on the ground. This cat had been the target of a murder. The warrior felt as if the death blow had been given to her instead of the lifeless cat in front of her. She let out a wail of anguish, mourning the death of her medicine cat and even more the death of her sister.

Most of the camp was alerted by this cry and some warriors also got up to investigate. The warriors climbing out of their dens saw a young she-cat running out of camp, appearing to give chase to something.

As all of this was taking place, the cat with the dark pelt was running through the forest. "NightClan fox-dung! LightningClan will not forget this!" was the cry the cat heard being shouted from behind, as a young warrior chased it.

The cat charged ahead onto it's own territory, pleased that it's had gotten it's revenge. _"Let's see how well LightningClan fairs without a medicine cat. Their warriors will die and every cat left will experience my grief!" _

During the same night, in the medicine cat's den within the NightClan camp, a small medicine cat with white and gray fur was having a dream of darkness. This was not ordinary darkness, like one would find in a dreamless sleep, but a choking darkness that threatened to drown all in it's path. The medicine cat woke up breathing heavily. He stepped outside to look at the stars for a sign of reassurance, or at least gain some comfort from the ancestors he knew to be up there. When he looked up he realized he couldn't see any stars, except for one which became covered up by clouds as soon as he noticed it. All he could see was the faint light of the moon. He stared at them moon and realized a breeze was blowing a cloud that would eventually cover it. The breeze didn't seem gentle, but it was not a strong wind. It blew past him. He turned around to see where the breeze was going. He realized that the breeze had blown into the medicine cats den and scattered his herbs everywhere. As he turned back he saw the moon was gone. The medicine cat looked at the darkness in fear, when a wind stronger than anything he had ever experienced in his life blew through the camp and the sky. After watching breathlessly for some time the wind had subsided and the clouds had all been blown away. The medicine cat nervously walked back to his den to clean up the herbs. He realized what he had seen was an omen. As he thought about the meaning, he cowered in fear at the dark events that he knew were to come.

**So, what did you think? Please let me know! Thanks for reading! :D**


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

Lightfur was filled with dread as he stared up at the half-moon. The sky was clear, so there was no way he could get out of going to the Moonpool. It wasn't that he disliked sharing tongues with his warrior ancestors, it was just that he was scared of what they were going to tell him. As a medicine cat he was skilled in interpreting the omens the stars sent him. A few nights ago he had received an omen foretelling dark events in the moons to come. He knew the cats of StarClan wouldn't tell him what the events were going be, but they were sure to give him some sort of dark warning. He knew something terrible was on the horizon.

He went to the edge of his territory and waited by the roots of an old oak tree. The oak tree was near the edge of his territory and very close to the LightningClan border. It was just far enough away from the border that a passing NightClan patrol wouldn't think to check it regularly unless something seemed wrong. He usually met Silverflower, the LightningClan medicine cat, there when it was time to visit the Moonpool. Silverflower had been his best friend since they were both just young medicine cat apprentices. It was then, while they were still apprentices, that they would sneak out to the oak tree to play. When they were both named full medicine cats they had stopped meeting, because they both became busy carrying out duties for their clans and knew that it wasn't quite right to keep meeting. Neither of them regretted their secret meetings though. Lightfur recalled the last of these meetings as he was waiting. They had met just before sunset on a warm Greenleaf day.

"Ok, ok you win!" Silverflower had squealed as they were play fighting. "If you were a warrior the other Clans would be in a lot of trouble," she said as she and Lightfur got up off the ground.

"I don't know. I'm not that good at fighting. You beat me most of the time," Lightfur replied dejectedly.

"You're too negative. Stop trying to weasel your way out of compliments. They're good things, you know," Silverflower teased.

"You're right. It's just that things keep getting harder for me." Lightfur stared at his paws.

"Hey, we'll always have each other, right?"

"I don't know. What if we drift apart as we get more responsibility for our clans? It can't be long before we get our full names."

Silverflower leaned in towards Lightfur and pressed her pelt against his. "Our friendship is strong enough to survive even the worst of battles. You worry too much Lightpaw."

"I know I do. I just can't help but wonder about the future," Lightfur confessed. "It scares me more than the present, especially with all the things StarClan reveals to us and the warnings they give."

"Lightpaw, focus on the present. You can't control the future, only prepare for it. Focus on doing the best you can and you will go on to do great things."

"Thanks Silverpaw. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Lightfur looked back on the memory wistfully. _"Things were so much easier back then," _he thought.

He realized he had been waiting for her for quite some time now and was beginning to get very nervous. _"Maybe she just went ahead." _he thought. As he was about to leave for the Moonpool he noticed a cat approaching him. He could tell it wasn't Silverflower or one of his clanmates. He started to panic. He was about to climb up the oak to hide when the cat called out to him.

"Lightfur! I need to speak with you. Now!" Lightfur realized who the cat was now. He tried to suppress his dread. It was Firestorm, the LightningClan deputy. She had always scared him, more so than the other Clan deputies. Her temper was legendary in the forest. The name Firestorm didn't just come from her wild ginger and white fur.

"Is something wrong in LightningClan? Where's Silverflower?" Lightfur asked trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"I think you know the answer to both questions," Firestorm said, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't," Lightfur said, looking down to avoid her glare.

"Silverflower was brutally murdered by a warrior of NightClan." There was no attempt to mask the absolute disgust in Firestorm's voice.

Lightfur went into a state of shock. "No," he whispered. His best friend, murdered? He wanted to yowl in anguish. He wanted to claw at her murderer and get vengeance. He wanted to… see her one last time. He could do none of these things. Not with Firestorm staring at him. Not when he didn't know who her murderer was. Not when she had already passed on to StarClan.

"The look of shock on your face tells me you knew nothing about this."

"No, I didn't. No one in our Clan did. The murderer couldn't have been a NightClan cat."

"Well it was. The den had NightClan scent in it. Come and take a sniff around if you want. You'd see," Firestorm didn't seem to want to discuss this further. The tone of her voice told Lightfur nothing could change her mind.

Lightfur had a disturbing thought, _"What if it was a NightClan cat? The warrior code has never been observed by ever warrior in the forest. Sneak attacks are not unheard of." _

"Lightfur, the real reason I'm here is because LightningClan isn't sure what to do without a medicine cat. So what do we do?" Lightfur knew very well what Lightning had to do and what he had to do. He just didn't want to face up to it at the moment. The shock of losing his best friend and now this?

"Let's go talk to the others about this. They need to know too."

"Fine, but don't send me into a trap." Lightfur wondered if he really seemed that untrustworthy or if the deputy was just overly paranoid. A true medicine cat would never stoop to such a low.

"Follow me. Keep your tail down and try to stay in the cover of the forest. I think it would be better for my clanmates not to know that you're here." Lightfur began to carefully pick his way across NightClan territory. Firestorm just narrowed her eyes at him and slowly did as he said.

Their trek through NightClan territory was a silent one. Lightfur imagined Firestorm didn't particularly fancy his company and he could say the same thing about her. When they were on WaterClan territory Firestorm looked a bit uneasy.

"It's ok, we're almost to the point where we meet the others." Lightfur was trying to be reassuring. If any WaterClan warrior saw her, she could be in trouble. Lightfur knew he could explain if they did see a patrol, but he could also guess LightningClan didn't want the news of their vulnerability to spread.

"I'm not scared, mouse-brain. I know we're fine," Firestorm said defiantly.

"_Either you're an incredible liar, or incredibly stupid," _thought Lightfur. He wanted to say it out loud, but he was scared of what her reaction would be. He didn't want to provoke anything, especially with the increasing tension between both of their clans. They walked on in silence until they reached a young sapling near a river. The river cut through WaterClan territory and it flowed into the waters of the Moonpool.

Four cats were already sitting by the sapling. The WaterClan medicine cats, Yellownose and Greenpaw, were waiting with the BreezeClan medicine cats, Snowfoot and Amberpaw. Yellownose was the first to notice the strange duo.

"Where is Silverflower? Why is the LightningClan deputy with you, Lightfur?" Yellownose asked with a note of worry in her voice. Lightfur glanced at Firestorm. The news of Silverflower's death should come from her.

"Silverflower is dead." The four cats collectively gasped, while Lightfur looked down miserably. The news of her death hadn't subsided from his mind at all. He would probably be in the stars by the time he had gotten over his grief. "She was killed by a NightClan cat." she cast a glance at Lightfur. Lightfur knew he had to speak up before the other cats could get a word in. He had to attempt to defend the honor of his clan.

"There was no plan made to kill any cats of LightningClan! Icestar would never order an attack like that." The shock on the faces of the others slowly subsided. Firestorm looked at Lightfur in disgust, but held her tongue. She knew that the medicine cats would not turn against Lightfur and as much as it pained her; she needed their help.

"So LightningClan is without a medicine cat…" Yellownose trailed off.

"Yes, we need to know what to do," Firestorm snapped impatiently.

"When a medicine cat dies, and leaves no apprentice, the new apprentice is to be trained by a medicine cat of another Clan." Yellownose turned from Firestorm to look at Lightfur, "Since you are the only medicine cat without an apprentice, the duty of training the next LightningClan medicine cat falls on you."

"What!" cried Firestorm. "This cannot be right! A different medicine cat must train our medicine cat! NightClan is what killed our first medicine cat and you expect us to send an apprentice there to be trained! No this won't work! I won't allow it!" she cried stubbornly. Lightfur could sense the anguish in her voice. Silverflower had told him that Firestorm was one of her good friends. He knew that she must be more upset about Silverflower's death than she let on. It must be hard for her to come and ask for help from cats of other clans, even if they were medicine cats.

"I know your grief troubles you, Firestorm. The loss of a medicine cat is always hard, and the loss of a great friend is harder, but Lightfur is an honest cat. Like so many medicine cats before him, he is loyal to StarClan before his own clan. He'll do a great job of training his apprentice," Snowfoot said, trying to comfort the deputy.

Firestorm fell silent after this. The medicine cats all waited for her to speak. "I see we have no choice. How will we know who the new apprentice will be?"

"StarClan will tell Lightfur," Yellownose explained. "They should tell him tonight unless they have a reason not to."

"Lightfur, I want you to come to LightningClan territory tomorrow. Bring Icestar if you can. If he won't come, tell him Moonstar and I will pay him a visit. We need to know who the next apprentice is and make arrangements for their training to work," Firestorm said in a soft voice. The resignation in her voice was apparent. Her anger had finally subsided because of the harsh reality that she had to face. She turned to walk away.

"Wait, Firestorm, would you like an escort home? It isn't wise to walk through hostile territory on your own," Snowfoot said with genuine concern in her voice.

Firestorm may not have been as angry as she was before, but her pride had not completely deserted her. "I'll be careful. I'm not a foolish kit sneaking out of camp."

"Ok, but if you do get hurt, go to the WaterClan camp. Tell them I said you should come. I don't want any cats getting hurt needlessly."

She looked like she would have said more, but thought better of it. It was obvious she didn't want to stick around much longer. Firestorm gave Snowfoot a small nod and walked off into the night. Lightfur guessed if she did get hurt she would do no such thing. Pride was Firestorm's main downfall. He had to wonder why so may warriors fell victim to this type of pride. It prevented them from getting the help they really needed. If Firestorm died because she refused treatment from any medicine cat that was not of her own clan, would it really be worth her pride?

After Firestorm had left, the medicine cats stood there silently for a minute. They were all feeling grief over Silverflower. Finally the silence was broken when Yellownose said, "We need to go. We've spent too much time here." The five medicine cats began to walk towards their destination.

It was only after they had begun walking that Lightfur remembered his omen. He shivered as he realized the darkness was coming. Silverflower's death was the start.

On the same day, at an earlier time, a young apprentice in the LightningClan camp was on a mission.

"Stonepaw! I've caught 3 voles and 2 mice! What do you have?" a fluffy apprentice with a white pelt asked another apprentice with a smoother gray pelt.

"I have a rabbit, 2 birds, and a mouse! I'm going to complete my hunting mission and I'm going to finally beat you at hunting, Frostpaw!" Stonepaw called to his friend.

"I've caught more prey than you. You'll never beat me!"

"You know rabbits are worth more than mice," Stonepaw said.

"They are not!" Frostpaw jumped on Stonepaw and they began to play fight on the ground. Just as she thought she was about to overtake Stonepaw, Rocktail, who was Stonepaw's mentor, found them wrestling on the ground.

"I expect that your mission is complete," Rocktail said, glaring at them both. Obviously they weren't finished with their task yet.

Stonepaw looked down feeling slightly embarrassed. "No, Rocktail. I know Frostpaw and I are supposed to hunt together until sunset. We were just having fun." Stonepaw had a bad habit of trying to justify his misdeeds, especially when it wasn't until later he found out that they actually were misdeeds.

"Fun won't fill your clanmates bellies. If you two want to be warriors, then you must stop acting like kits," Rocktail said gruffly and walked away.

Stonepaw sighed after he thought Rocktail was gone. He like being an apprentice well enough, but something about it never felt quite right. Hunting was fun, sure, but it never gave him a thrill like it did the other apprentices. Fighting was a different story altogether. He was an above average fighter, perhaps one day he'd be looked upon as a threat in battle, but he certainly wasn't going to be the best warrior the forest had ever known. All the other apprentices in LightningClan were convinced that title was reserved for them, but he knew that it wasn't for him and probably not for them either. Beside his lack of ambition, he truly did not enjoy battle training. He saw it's importance for self defense and being able to take down a traitorous cat, but he would rather be doing something more constructive. He never shared those thoughts with anyone, though. He supposed he'd get the thrill of being a warrior eventually.

"Stonepaw, stop staring out into space. We have to keep going." Frostpaw had interrupted his thoughts. He realized this wasn't the right time to worry or wonder about being a warrior.

"Ok, I'm still going to win!"

"No, you're not!" With that, they both raced off.

A gentle breeze was moving the waters of the Moonpool. Lightfur slowly walked to his place, enjoying the breeze and trying to put off getting there until the last second possible. He looked down into the pool and sighed. He couldn't avoid reality forever. He drank a few drops of water from the pool. His dreams overtook him and he found himself in a meadow near the forest of StarClan.

"Dawnpelt!" Lightfur called in greeting to a cat with light and dark orange fur. Dawnpelt, his former mentor, seemed to have been waiting for him. "What darkness is coming? Can you tell me the events of the future?" Lightfur asked, wanting to get the question over with. He suspected she wouldn't tell him, but it never hurt any cat to ask.

"Lightfur, it's not your place to know the future. You must prepare for the hard times to come and have faith."

"You still think you can control the future, don't you Lightfur?" a voice asked him from behind. Lightfur felt like leaping with joy. He knew that voice!

"Silverflower! I'm so sorry about what happened," he said turning around to face her, not sure what he could say to express his grief.

"It's ok. I'm alright. Death is destined to take us all sometime. Just focus on the present."

"It's going to be so different without you," Lightfur began.

Silverflower interrupted him. "I'll still be here," she said, smiling.

Lightfur was comforted by this. As long as he walked among the stars, he would see Silverflower.

Lightfur realized that now he had to take care of some unpleasant business. "Silverflower, there's something important I need to ask you. Was your killer a NightClan cat? Do you know who it was?"

Silverflower remained silent for some time. She glanced at Dawnpelt. "It was very dark. I couldn't recognize the cat."

"Surely the cats of the stars witnessed this act. They must have told you. Who was it, Dawnpelt?"

"Lightfur, it's not for me to tell you these things. The killer will be revealed in time, but not now. The stars can't tell you how to fix your problems. That is your responsibility."

"Well at least tell me if it was a NightClan cat." Dawnpelt and Silverflower exchanged a long glance. Lightfur didn't even have to hear their reply. He could already tell.

"Is there nothing I can do?" he asked.

"Be patient. The stars won't abandon you," Dawnpelt said. This made Lightfur feel a little better, but with a killer on the loose in his Clan; he wasn't sure if he could have too much patience.

"Now we have something else to take care of," Silverflower said, eyes shining.

"Lightfur, it's time to pass on everything I taught you to your own apprentice." Dawnpelt looked at him expectantly

"I'll never be as good of mentor as you, Dawnpelt."

"You will be. You're a good medicine cat and I taught almost all of the skills you needed to learn. Trust yourself, or else your apprentice will never be able to trust you." Lightfur knew his mentor was right. He told himself to remember those words and hoped he could teach his apprentice the ways of a medicine cat.

"So who will my apprentice be?" Lightfur asked. He had to know who it was, or else this whole ordeal would be rendered pointless.

"There is an apprentice in LightningClan our ancestors have taken an interest in. He seems to have the heart of a medicine cat, but we must put him through a final test before we're sure. We are sending him an omen telling him what he must do. If he interprets the meaning correctly we'll know we have made the right choice," Silverflower explained.

"What omen are you sending him?" Lightfur's curiosity got the better of him.

"See for yourself," Dawnpelt said. She got up and ran off into the forest with Silverflower behind her. Lightfur followed them until they stopped at the forest's edge. He looked out past it.

Lightfur smiled. He saw the omen. It was obvious to him what it meant, but an apprentice who could interpret it with no training must have quite some talent. _"Perhaps training this cat won't be so hard." _Yet in interpreting the omen he caught a glimpse at the hard things to come for this apprentice. He realized that the path they were both following would be covered in darkness and he didn't know if they could emerge from it in light.

**A/N What did you think? Please review and tell me! I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading. :D**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N Yay Chapter 2 is finally done! xD I'd like to thank my reviewers for, well, reviewing. xD **

**Shiningspirit- Thank you! You got your wish. I did update. xD**

**Heart of Onix-Thanks for the advice! I do try to edit my work, which is why it took me so long to get this chapter out. xD Your fic sounds interesting btw. :D **

Chapter 2

Stonepaw was feeling very tired as he walked into the apprentices' den after the sun had set. He felt like he hadn't slept in a moon, despite the fact he had gotten a good night's sleep. Even Frostpaw hadn't been able to get him to perk up. He never did find out who won their contest…

He curled up in his nest as he thought about catching the most prey. Frostpaw always seemed to beat him! When he was about to fall into a deep sleep, he began hearing a noise. It kept getting louder and louder. He opened to his eyes and sat up. He looked around and realized he was no longer in the apprentices den, but instead sitting by a river, listening to the rushing water.

"_What happened? Where am I?" _

"Welcome young apprentice!"

Stonepaw jumped up, surprised to hear another cat's voice, especially one that sounded so familiar. He turned to see a silver she-cat facing him. "Silverflower! I thought you were dead!"

"I am dead, Stonepaw," she said gently.

"If you're dead, then that means we're in StarClan. If we're in StarClan, does that make me dead, too?" Stonepaw's eyes widened at the thought of being dead.

Silverflower laughed. "No, you're still alive and well. This is just a dream. StarClan needs to show you something." Her tone became more serious.

"Why does StarClan need to speak with me?" Stonepaw's eyes widened again, but this time with wonder. _"What could they want from an apprentice?" _

"We need to test you, Stonepaw. Look at the river in front of you."

Stonepaw obeyed and turned his gaze to the river. It was the strangest river he had ever seen. It split off into two different paths. The path to the right was blocked by a boulder. Behind the boulder was a dry riverbed. The path to the left had a stronger flow of water stronger than one would expect, because the flow of the water from the first path was being diverted into it.

"What an odd river…"

As he looked down the dry riverbed he noticed the forest surrounding it . This forest was a far cry from ordinary. It wasn't that it looked odd, but evoked strange feelings in him as he stared at it. The forest seemed to call out to him. He felt the pride of a successful hunt, the heat of a battle between warriors, and could almost heard the yowls of victory from his clan. Yet he felt somehow detached from it all. These feelings just weren't quite right to him. Emptiness threatened to overwhelm him as he gazed farther and farther down the path.

He turned his head towards the other path of the river. The path of water was surrounded by plants he recognized from the forest. He thought they were herbs, like a medicine cat would use. The path was pleasant and he felt at ease just looking down it. Resting his gaze on it seemed to replace the emptiness he other path had brought upon him with a sense of purpose.

Stonepaw thought it was very bizarre that just looking down two different paths of a river could bring out such strong emotions in him. He stepped closer to where they split off and noticed something odd. There were little stones being carried down the path on the left with the current. Then he realized exactly what StarClan wanted to share with him.

"I'm supposed to follow the path of a medicine cat. Aren't I?"

Lightfur didn't particularly enjoy his trek home from the medicine cats' gathering. After he had awoken from his dreams of StarClan, clouds had begun to roll over the sky. Even if his walk home wasn't exactly pleasant, he decided he would take his sweet time if it meant he could put off talking to Icestar, the NightClan leader.

Icestar was a good leader. He commanded respect from the members of his own clan and the members of other clans. He had the right amount of diplomacy to keep peace with other clans when necessary, but enough strength to show that NightClan was a force to be reckoned with. Icestar was also one of the most strategic cats in the forest. Lightfur knew that there was no way he would just let this situation be. He would find some way to exploit it. StarClan would not be happy with that, and truthfully Lightfur wouldn't be too happy either. Icestar would never listen to him though.

Lightfur realized he was already at the entrance of the NightClan camp. He cursed himself for getting too lost in thought to realize how quickly he was walking. He still had no idea what to say to Icestar. He considered waiting until morning to discuss the night's events with him, but decided against it. This news was something Icestar would like to hear about sooner rather than later. Lightfur also knew that the longer he waited to tell Icestar, the harder it would be. He summoned every scrap of courage he had and walked towards the other end of camp, where the leader's den was located.

Lightfur gulped and padded into Icestar's den. Icestar was sleeping soundly in his nest. "Icestar, I need to speak with you."

Icestar snored in response.

"_Why can't Icestar be a light sleeper?" _Lightfur thought as he prodded Icestar with his paw. "Wake up, Icestar."

"Whaaaa?" Icestar did not seem to be fully conscience yet. He sat up. "Is the camp under attack?" he asked, becoming more aware of his surroundings.

"No, but there's-" Icestar cut Lightfur off.

"Then why have you decided to wake me up in the middle of the night?" Icestar asked with an edge to his voice.

"StarClan told me something I think you should know about."

"What did they say? Are we in danger?" Icestar's voice lost it's edge.

"They want me to take on an apprentice."

"You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me you are going to take on an apprentice? Are you mouse-brained?"

Lightfur was getting very nervous at this point. He did not want to be having this conversation. "Yes, but the apprentice they want me to take on isn't from our Clan. I thought you should know." Lightfur's voice had dropped down into a whisper.

"What?" Icestar exclaimed. "How can that happen?"

"Silverflower was murdered and she had no apprentice. Firestorm told me, because she came to the medicine cats' gathering to find out what to do about that situation. It is my duty as a medicine cat to train an apprentice for LightningClan," Lightfur explained, his voice becoming louder, but also weak and shaky.

"You're training the enemy? You're a fool of a medicine cat, Lightfur." Lightfur was taken aback at this. Icestar would never say this in front of the clan,. Lightfur knew he shouldn't have been surprised. When Icestar was away from the Clan he wasn't afraid to share his opinions on any cat.

Both cats were silent for a moment.

Finally Icestar said, "Is it really necessary for you to train a LightningClan apprentice? Can't another medicine cat do it?"

"No, they already have apprentices. It has to be me," Lightfur stated weakly.

"I suppose StarClan would be very displeased if we refused." Icestar sighed. "Fine, you can have your LightningClan apprentice."

"Really? That's great!" Lightfur paused. This next bit of news had to be handled delicately. "Icestar? There's something else I need to discuss with you," Lightfur's voice regained its shakiness.

"What?" Icestar looked at him with annoyance. This unnerved Lightfur, who was hoping that Icestar's quick concession would mean the rest of their discussion would be easy to finish.

"Firestorm told me that it was a NightClan cat who killed Silverflower."

"You defended the honor of NightClan, didn't you?"

"I told her it couldn't have been a NightClan cat and that you never ordered such an attack."

Icestar looked thoughtful for a moment. "She didn't believe that, did she?"

"She believed I knew nothing about it, but she still thinks it was a NightClan cat."

"But, as far as we know it wasn't a NightClan cat. LightningClan is in no position to attack us without a medicine cat. They can do nothing about it for now and they'll owe us for the training of their next medicine cat. We can let the situation rest until further problems arise." Icestar looked pleased with this. Lightfur wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried. If it really was a NightClan cat who killed Silverflower, NightClan could be in danger.

"Icestar, there's something more I have to tell you. Firestorm told me to come to their territory tomorrow to meet my apprentice. They wanted me to bring you as well. They said if you didn't come they would pay you a visit themselves."

Icestar looked thoughtful again. "Let them come. Go to their territory tomorrow to meet your apprentice. After you have your apprentice bring them and Moonstar to our camp. Tell them that they are the only cats welcome and that any other cat who decides to join them will be dealt with accordingly. They won't be able to try to seek revenge for the death of there medicine cat with only two cats. They'll also be on their best behavior. They can't afford to provoke anything now." Icestar looked happier at this thought. "Perhaps having a LightningClan apprentice won't be such a bad thing."

"I don't think you should take advantage of another clan's troubles. It may come back to haunt you," Lightfur said quietly.

"You know nothing about leading a clan. Do as I say or let LightningClan suffer without a medicine cat." Icestar's mind was firmly made up. Lightfur knew there was nothing he could do to change it.

"Ok, I'll bring Moonstar and my apprentice here as soon as I possibly can."

"Good. Now, get out of my den," Icestar turned his head away and settled back into his nest.

Lightfur walked outside the den. He looked up to find comfort in the stars, but all he saw was the darkness of the night.


End file.
